Injector razor and blade



March 2, 1965 w. c. BOYD INJECTOR RAZOR AND BLADE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 20, 1962 ATTORNEYS March 2, 1965 w. c. BOYD INJECTOR RAZOR AND BLADE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 20, 1962 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,171,197 INJE CTGR RAZOR AND BLADE William (I. Boyd, Richmond, Va. (2520 Salisbury Road, Midlothian, Va.) Filed Sept. 20, 1962, Ser. No. 224,993 (Zlaims. (Cl. 30-62) This invention relates to an improved safety razor, the blade therefor and the magazine injector for loading blades into the razor.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a razor which, with the blade locked in place has no part of the razor extending over the top of the blade, so that in use the blade can be held close to the face and at the proper shaving angle.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a blade having a longitudinal feather unitary therewith extending across the blade in middle position constructed so as to interlock at opposite sides with the cooperating clamping jaws of the longitudinally divided razor head.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a razor as described, the clamping jaws being unitary with cooperating plates upon which the blade seats, the jaws being normally resiliently biased to come together with clamping pressure against the opposite sides of the feather of a blade seated on said plates with the feather between said jaws, the sole means for locking the blade in shaving position being the jaws.

A further object of the invention is to provide a razor of the type described in which the jaws are mounted upon resilient plates from which the closing bias of the jaws is derived, in association with a magazine injector having a tongue insertable between said plates effective upon initial insertion to cause the jaws to open sufficiently at one end to freely receive the anterior end of the feather, the plates twisting incident to unequal stress across their width due to the fact that they are pried apart only at one end, thereby causing the edges of the rigid jaws to mutually converge in a direction toward the opposite end so that the feather is required itself to force the jaws apart when the blade is forced into its final seated position, preventing the blade from falling out which it might do if the jaws opened parallel for their entire length upon initial insertion of the tongue of the injector.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a blade having a convexly curved edge at one side extending from end to end, adapting it to shave in areas of depressed contour such as under the arms.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the description of a practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of the following specification and throughout the figures of which the same reference characters have been used to designate identical parts:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective showing a razor with blade and juxtaposed injector, indicating the function of the injector tongue in separating the divided parts of the razor head, parts being broken away to show the injector magazine;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view through the head of the razor, the blade, and the tongue of the injector, taken in a vertical plane perpendicular to the length dimension of the jaws;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the head of the razor without the blade, showing in full lines the divided portions of the head, or jaws, in substantially closed position, and in broken lines, indicating them in the position assumed when the jaws are spread by the injector tongue;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the blade, inverted;

FIGURES 5 and 5a show diagrammatically exemplary variants in the cross-sectional shape of the blade flange;

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FIGURE 6 is a plan view of a modified form of blade, and in juxtaposition, a similar view of a correspondingly modified divided razor head;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical cross-section taken along the line 77 of FIGURE 1.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, which were made from a prototype model and do not represent the final form which the invention maytake as an article of commerce, the numeral 10 refers to the razor as a whole which comprises a handle 11 from which a body comprising a pair of congruent leaves or relatively thin plates 12 extends in an upward direction. Said plates are fixed to the handle, and in the region adjacent the handle they are in surface contact, but they are slightly spaced apart at their upper ends. They are stiffiy resilient and their relative substantial contiguity as described is their normal repose position. The plates 12 at their upper ends are fixed to the respective halves of the divided head 13.

The latter comprises the rigid bars 14 and 15 which extend upward from the plates 12, being fixed thereto and are preferably the length of the blade. The bars are of equal height with narrow outwardly extending flanges at the top to which are fixed respectively the outwardly extending curved seat plates 16 and 17 that together form the seat for the blade. The parts that have been described as fixed to one another may be integral.

The bar 14 is planiform up to the point at which it flanges outwardly to join the seat plates. The corresponding face of the bar 15 is formed with a longitudinal channel 16' opening toward the bar 14. This channel receives the rib 18, which is embossed on the tongue 19 of, an injector, when the tongue is thrust into the space between the bars against the resilient bias of the plates 12. The rib closely fits the channel and holds the injector in proper position at the end of the head. The registry of the tongue and channel also assures that the injector will always be presented to the razor at the same end.

It will be noted that the inner edges 20 of the seat plates project inwardly of the respective bars 14 and 15 and that the lower portions of said edges are chamfered forming upwardly convergent inclined planes that meet the upper faces of the seat plates, in effect functioning as wedges. In respose position of the seat plates the edges substantially come together with some pressure.

Adverting now to the blade 22, in its inverted position shown in FIGURE 4, it is seen to be transversely curved to match the contour of the seat plates; it is double edged, and it has a longitudinally extending feather 23 on its concave side, of uniform V-shaped cross-section except at one end,'at which it may be convergent for easy insertion of the feather between the edges of the seat plates when they are in spread relation through the func-.,

tion of the inserted tongue of the injector. The feather is welded to the blade equidistant from the edges thereof with its apex in contact with the blade and its divergent sides making equal angles therewith. The sides are pref- I erably resilient. When the tongue of the injector is withdrawn the inner edges 20 of the seat plates cam against the inclined sides of the feather under the bias of the resilient plates 12, drawing the blade down against the seat plates 7 sion of the upper clamping plate that has heretofore .been employed not only as a clamp for the blade, but.

because of its position at the top of the razor and its upwardly convex face, as a rocker against the face acting as a support for the razor in use, slidably contactingthe face and stabilizingthe cutting angle ofv the edge with the skin. The ability in the present invention to do away with the upper clamp plate,'incident to the positioning of the blade clamping means altogether at the under side of the blade makes the blade the top member of the assemblage with the apex of its convex face projecting above all other structure, in which uppermost position its curved surface inherently adapts it to perform the face engaging, edge angle stabilizing function of the commonly known upper blade clamp.

A number. of alternative variants may be envisioned as equivalents of the feather 23, two of which are diagrammatically shown in FIGURES 5 and 5a by way of example. The one illustrated in FIGURE 5 is a curved metal trough 24 welded to the blade at the middle of its arc of. curvature. The feather in FIGURE 5a is composite, consisting of-a narrow rectangular strip 25 welded to the blade, and a wider strip 26 welded to the outer side of the strip 25 and projecting beyond the latter equally at both sides. Channels 27 are thus formed, the width of which is such that the angular edges of the seat plates upon entering the channels wedgingly engage the outer strip 26, holding the blade down against the seat plates and clampably locking itin place.

The length of the tongue 19 of the injector is not greater than one-half the length of the bars 14 and 15, and its width is such that when inserted between the bars it spreads the seat plates sufliciently to allow the feather 23 of the blade to enter freely between the clamping edges of the seat plates. However, there is a reluctance on the part of the resilient plates 12 to move away from their position of repose so there is a torsional strain developed in the plates 12 between their portions which react directly. against the unyielding mass of the interposed tongue and their portions which react against the more yieldable resistance of the bars, ahead of the tongue.

This, torsional strain causes the bars and the seat plates, which are unitary with them to converge, turning about'the' end of the tongue as it moves in, assuming a position in which the space betweenthe seat plates forward of; the tongue becomes narrower than the feather of the blade and must be forced apart by the feather until the blade. reaches its final position on the head of the razor, the convergent. position of the seat plates being shown in broken lines in FIGURE 3. The advantage of this operation is that. the blade is positivelyheld in position requiring no corner lugs on the seat plates to hold it in place. Also, the blade cannot fall out during insertion, as would be possible if the clamping edges of the seat plates remained, parallel from end to end when spread by the injector tongue to give free entry of the feather between the' spread edges of the seat plates.

The injector, designated as a whole by the reference numeral 28, comprises a box having a rectangular bottom 29, side walls 30 and end walls 31 and 31a extending perpendicularly upward from the bottom. One side wall is provided with an extension which forms the tongue 19. The side walls 30 have flanges 32 at the top, bent inwardly and having the curvature of the blade. The flanges terminate in parallel edges which define an open runway 33, extending longitudinally of the box.

' A blade magazine 34 occupies the forward part of the box, being part of the injector. It consists of a bottom wall 35, seated on the bottom of the box, preferably fitting frictionally between the side walls 30. The object of'the magazine is to hold centered a plurality of congruently stacked blades, with their edges out of contact with the side walls of the box and to keepjthe stack latter are congruently stacked the notches are in perfect registry. The bottom of the magazine is provided with four perpendicularly upstanding posts 39 positioned to register with the respective groups of registering notches, but of such height as to exclude the topmost blade. Without the interengaging posts and notches the blades would be unstably balanced in the stack since each would be supported solely upon the narrow base afforded by the feathers 23. The coaction of the posts and notches keep the individual blades in parallel planes in the stack and parallel to the bottom of the magazine, which is essential to the ejection of the blades through the narrow space in the magazine above the posts.

A pusher 40 rides in the runway 33. It consists of outer and inner plates 41 and 42, respectively, curved to fit the exterior and interior surfaces of the flanges 32, and a neck plate 43 of such width as to slidably fit the runway, and connected to the outer and inner plates in any suitable manner as by welding. The outer and inner plates embrace the flanges 32 and thus couple the pusher to the flanged top of the injector. The inner plate is the element that contacts the end of the uppermost blade of the stack.

The pusher 40, when inactive, is positioned immediately back of the magazine preferably with small range of free movement in the runway. The rearward end wall 31 of the box may have its upper edge shaped to form a lug 44 which extends into the runway and forms a stop in obstructive position to the inner plate of the pusher to keep the latter from sliding off the rearward end of the injector. The height of the forward end wall 31a is such that the upper edge of said wall clears the path of for- Ward projection of the uppermost blade of the stack.

In order to keep the pusher from running ofl the forward end of the injector a pair of lugs 45 are struck up from the front ends of the flanges 32, one on each side, to function as stops. The outer plate of the pusher is provided at its forward edge with recesses 46 to receive the lugs, of such depthas to stop the pusher when the front of its inner plate 42 is precisely in a common plane with the face of the injector that abuts the head of the razor. This precise relationship of parts assures that the blade will be installed in' the razor in the exact required longitudinal position.

' The injector and razor are so matched that when the tongue of the injector is fully inserted in the tongue receptor constituted by the bars 14 and 15, the topmost blade in the injector is in precise rectilinear alinement with the spent blade in the razor so that when the topmost blade is pushed by the pusher it abuts the end of the spent blade and ejects it as it takes its place in the razor. The relatively great depth given to the blades in their middle regions through the presence of the feathers assures that the blades at their force transmitting ends will not override one another.

FIGURE 6 illustrates a modified form of the invention in which the blade 47 has a longitudinally convex shaving edge 48 designed particularly for under arm shaving. The opposite shaving edge 49 is rectilinear. A blade of this shape requires that the head of the razor must be modified to receive it. As shown in FIGURE 6, one of the seat plates 50, including the edge guard 51 is correspondingly convex. The opposite seat plate 12 is similar to the seat plates in the previously described razor designed for parallel edged blades. The feather on the blade 47 is at such distance from the straight edge of the blade as will bring the longitudinal center line of the feather into the plane of separation of the divided head. Obviously the injector 28 would not, without modification, handle the blade 47.

While I have in the above description disclosed practical embodiments of my invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the specific details of construction and arrangement of parts as herein set forth are by wayof example and not to be construed as necessarily limiting the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. Razor comprising body and head portions divided :in a longitudinal axial plane, said body portion including cooperating resilient members united at their lower ends, biased by their resiliency to lie substantially together in position of repose, said head portions including side by side parallel bars fixed to the upper ends of said resilient members, having a narrow passage therebetween forming a receptor for a key used in spreading the divided portions, and seat plates at the tops of said bars fixed thereto, extending predominantly outwardly therefrom and having parallel edges extending inwardly of said bars defining between them a slot, the upper faces of said seat plates together forming a seat for a blade that has a longitudinal feather intermediate its shaving edges which when positioned (in the slot between said edges when they are spread by the presence of a key in said receptor, becomes held clamped between said edges when the key is withdrawn.

2. In combination, a razor and a blade therefor, said blade being a thin leaf having a longitudinal feather on its under side parallel to the shaving edges, said razor comprising a handle, body and head, said body and head being divided in a longitudinal axial plane, said body including thin resilient plates in face to face attitude, in fixed contact adjacent said handle and spreadable above said handle being biased by their resiliency to lie substantially together in position of repose, said head [including side by side normally parallel rigid bars fixed to the ends of said resilient plates remote from handle, and seat plates at the tops of said bars fixed thereto, extending predominantly outward therefrom and having normally parallel edges extending inwardly of said bars defining between them a slot, normally narrower than the feather, the upper faces of said seat plates together forming a seat for :said blade, the top face being upwardly convex, said bars being normally slightly spaced apart forming a receptor for a key adapted to be wedgingly inserted between said bars at their forward ends to open the forward end of said slot sufiiciently to freely admit the leading end of said feather, said resilient plates being twistable responsive to unequal stress upon the bars at their opposite ends thereby causing the bars and the inner edges of the seat plates to converge to an extent to reduce the width of the slot ahead of the feather to less than the width of the feather, requiring the latter to open the slot as the blade is pushed to fully inserted position, preventing the blade from falling out While the key is in place, said razor being characterized by the absence of structure above said seat whereby said blade [is the topmost element of the combination.

3. Razor comprising body and head portions, said body portions including relatively wide and thin elongated members arranged side by :side, relatively fixed at their lower ends and laterally resilient, normally biased by their resiliency to lie substantially together at their upper ends, said head portions including side by side parallel bars rigid with the upper ends of corresponding resilient members and seat plates carried by said bars having upper faces together forming a seat for a blade having an intermediate feather on its under side, and provided with adjacent edge portions forming cooperating clamping means for engaging the feather while held forced apart by the latter, to hold the blade on its seat.

4. Razor as claimed in claim 3, characterized by the absence of any razor structure extending above said seat.

5. Razor as claimed in claim 3, said bars being normally slightly spaced to admit a spreading tool between them at one end for moving the adjacent edges of the seat plates apart to receive the blade feather, said elongated members being torsionally resilient whereby when the adjacent edges of the seat plates are spread at one end through torsional twist incited by insertion of said tool they will move convergently at the opposite end, braking the sliding movement of the feather through the space between said edges while the blade is being inserted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,044,906 Ohlsson Nov. 19, 1912 1,497,030 Salerni i June 10, 1924 1,969,945 Rodrigues Aug. 14, 1934 1,991,275 Fry Feb. 12, 1935 2,029,825 Lewando Feb. 4, 1936 2,221,379 Hilliard et al. Nov. 12, 1940 2,288,302 Heyburn et al June 30, 1942 2,316,600 Kuhnl et al. Apr. 13, 1943 2,424,593 Testi July 29, 1947 2,564,712 Muros Aug. 21, 1951 2,911,713 Kunhl Nov. 10, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 344,466 Great Britain Mar. 2, 1931 

1. RAZOR COMPRISING BODY AND HEAD PORTIONS DIVIDED IN A LONGITUDINAL AXIAL PLANE, SAID BODY PORTION INCLUDING COOPERATING RESILIENT MEMBERS UNITED AT THEIR LOWER ENDS, BIASED BY THEIR RESILIENCY TO LIE SUBSTANTIALLY TOGETHER IN POSITION OF REPOSE, SAID HEAD PORTIONS INCLUDING SIDE BY SIDE PARALLEL BARS FIXED TO THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID RESILIENT MEMBERS, HAVING A NARROW PASSAGE THEREBETWEEN FORMING A RECEPTOR FOR A KEY USED IN SPREADING THE DIVIDED PORTIONS, AND SEAT PLATES AT THE TOPS OF SAID BARS FIXED THERETO, EXTENDING PREDOMINANTLY OUTWARDLY THEREFROM AND HAVING PARALLEL EDGES EXTENDING INWARDLY OF SAID BARS DEFINING BETWEEN THEM A SLOT, THE UPPER FACES OF SAID SEAT PLATES TOGETHER FORMING A SEAT FOR A BLADE THAT HAS A LONGITUDINAL FEATHER INTERMEDIATE ITS SHAVING EDGES WHICH WHEN POSITIONED IN THE SLOT BETWEEN SAID EDGES WHEN THEY ARE SPREAD BY THE PRESENCE OF A KEY IN SAID RECEPTOR, BECOMES HELD CLAMPED BETWEEN SAID EDGES WHEN THE KEY IS WITHDRAWN. 